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| Ready to skate! |
There is a roller skating time warp in Orange, CA called the Holiday Skate Center. For us, it has been a popular place for kids' birthday parties. Every time my daughter passed it on the way home from school, she would hint that she wanted to go. So when her choir gave her a break from rehearsal one Saturday morning, I decided to take the family and go.
Do Not Arrive Too Early
We decided to do the 10:00 am Saturday Morning Kid's Skate because it was the least expensive and I figured there would be less crazies on the floor.I thought to arrive early so we would have time to get our skates on and start skating at 10:00 am to get the most out of our money. Big mistake. At 9:45 am the window was still closed, but I could see there was plenty of birthday party activity inside, so I went in and asked the manager if we could go ahead and get tickets for the 10:00 am skate. She told me, in her you're-an-idiot-can't-you-see-the-window-is-closed? tone, "You can in 15 minutes at 10:00 am." I was about to write a scathing review on Google maps until she thought better of her attitude 5 minutes later and opened the window. Lucky her.
A 70's Time Warp
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| Groovy! |
Busy Morning!
I was not prepared for how busy this place was on a Saturday morning. Every available table was packed with kids' birthday parties that morning. If you wanted to snack, in the only area of the rink where eating was allowed, you were relegated to a corner in the back.Not only were there kids' birthday parties getting set up, there were also roller skating lessons happening. So the place was packed.
Two-Hour Public Session
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| Skating is now in session... |
This particular session lasted 2 hours and included the following fan favorite skates and games:
- Cha Cha Slide by DJ Casper
- Dice Game (where skaters won prizes)
- Baby Shark
- Backwards Skate, Beginners
- Backwards Skate, Advanced
- Skating in the dark (nightclub lighting only) to Star Wars
For a break from the skating, there is a snack bar available with typical carnival-type food, and a small video game area. Outside food and backpacks are not allowed in the rink.
The website also boasts "HD flat-screen TV's" but I don't recall seeing them.
There's even a photo booth. But considering that people can now take selfie's on their cell phones, I'm not sure what the point is other than being another holdover from the 70's.
On the Skating Floor
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| Some advanced skaters on the floor |
Keeping everyone safe are two referees on the floor with the letter "H" on their back, making sure no one stayed down too long after falling and ensuring that, for the most part, rules were followed. (I say, "for the most part" because, despite the admonition from the website's FAQ page, there were still people on the floor with shoes on helping skaters who did not skate well.)
Fitting the Skates
My daughter and I did not have any problems with our skates. Apparently, they were out of women's skates in my size, so the skate rental attendant gave me a men's size 7 for a women's size 8. It fit fine on me with my cotton crew socks and thin, anti-blister liner socks on. (Yes, that's 2 pairs of socks, in case you were wondering.) |
| Weeeeee...! |
Conclusion
Overall, we had a good time: no major spills or trauma. My daughter loves to roller skate. I'm actually an ice skater, so it took me 45 minutes to get used to my skates. But by the end of the session I had managed a few one-foot glides and some backwards skating (no crossovers). Conclusion: I prefer ice skating.
Music by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Let's Do the Time Warp Again...
So our trip skating through the time warp was fun. If you want to do the time warp again, there's an opportunity at the rink's "Flash Back Skate" on Tuesday nights, featuring 60's, 70's, and 80's music - just to make your time travel through the rink more complete. |
| Cue music: Let's do the Time Warp Again....! |
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